I live in the Highlands neighbourhood where an unspoken ritual exists. It may only be known to me — though I doubt it. In fact, the same musical ritual may take place in other neighbourhoods around the world. You see, many of my neighbours own small, yet vocal dogs. Every night between 10 and 11 o’clock, these dogs start barking as loudly as they can at each other. Both the street and alleyway erupt with a cacophony of barks. This lasts for about an hour, or until they are told to come indoors by their owners.  

I have a front row seat to this performance. Every night as I lie awake in my bed, desperately trying to catch some shut-eye, it begins. One dog will start, another will answer, then  a third. Then, before you know it, the whole street is alive with the crescendo of barking dogs. Their barks cancel out the traffic noise of the busy road nearby. This symphony has no conductor. The musicians play at their own will, in and out of sync with one another. These dogs have little care (actually no care) for the humans around them, trying to rest. They are extremely enthused and maybe even giddy at the exchange of unintelligible words that are serenaded to one another. What are they singing that is so provocative? Maybe it’s about what one dog had for dinner, and then another responding for him to cork it. All the while, they ring out like sopranos in an opera.  

The music is neither tasteful nor catchy; it’s utterly incoherent. An abstract piece, if you will. Instead of a thumping bassline and provoking melody, there is an asynchronous drum beat of hi-hats and snares, all trying to play at once, and each competing for your attention (and of course, they all succeed in getting your attention). On a positive note — pun intended — at least these  dogs have a community. Otherwise, they would be living pretty dull, dreary lives, not getting to have a yack with one another. I realize now that these dogs are neighbours, just like I have human neighbours; communication and interaction are key to a healthy and fulfilling lifestyle.  

So even if “Dog Rock” won’t catch on to mainstream media anytime soon, and the  symphony of dogs plays to itself every night, at least these dogs still have an ensemble to begin with. They get their little interactions and conversations in. Now, if we were talking jazz, who knows, maybe these hounds would hit it out of the park, but since I am not very well versed in jazz, I’ll stick to my side of the street with classical and contemporary popular music comparisons.